Oct 19, 2024
By Zulfiqar Kunbhar
Pakistan has recently introduced multiple steps and legislations aimed at curbing modern slavery and forced labor practices.
For instance with the support of United Nations Development Programme, Pakistan introduced first National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights in 2021, aimed at fulfilling country’s commitment to protect against adverse human rights impacts resulting from business activity, and creating an environment conducive to fostering corporate respect for human rights.
Also after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the Provincial Assembly of Sindh enacted 17 labour laws after tripartite consultations. These include The Sindh Industrial Relations Act, 2013; The Sindh Workers Welfare Fund Act, 2014 (amended in 2023) etc.
Similarly on provincial level several other laws have been passed including Sindh Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 2015; Baluchistan Child Protection Act, 2016; and Punjab Domestic workers Act 2019.
However human rights organizations are skeptical about the effectiveness of these laws due to lackluster implementation.
“Anti-modern-slavery laws exist in Pakistan, but hardly any implementation,” says Nasir Mansoor, Deputy General Secretary of the National Trade Union Federation, Pakistan (NTUF). “With an 85 million- labor force in the country, the lack of enforcement of anti-forced labor laws is concerning,” he mentions adding that 95% of laborers in the country lack appointment letters, and only 1% are unionized.
This criticism is exacerbated by fresh reports of the increasing threat of climate change, which, according to them, further complicates the issue. As per reports in the prevalence of modern slavery, Pakistan is increasingly susceptible to child and forced labor due to heightened climate-related disasters.
According to the International Labour Organization’s “Child labour and forced labour in Pakistan” 2023 report, country’s rural communities were struggling with escalating climate-related disasters, including the devastating 2019 desert locust infestation and the catastrophic 2022 floods in the southern region. These crises drive vulnerable households into poverty, increasing their reliance on child labor or forced labor to survive. To mitigate this, report suggests, recovery and rehabilitation initiatives must incorporate sustainable employment and livelihood programs.
Sustainable employment and livelihood refers to a stable, self-sufficient, and environmentally conscious means of earning a living, ensuring economic sustainability, social equity, environmental sustainability, personal growth, and community engagement.
Stakeholders point out that the reasoning behind the failing implementation was evident during Pakistan’s 2024 general elections campaign, where political parties showed little interest in business human rights in their manifestos, explaining why implementation falls by the wayside once parties assume power.
Mansoor praises Pakistan’s 18th constitutional amendment, which devolved human rights legislation to the provinces. However, according to him, despite some progress labourers’ lives remain largely unchanged. He cites the 2024 general elections as a recent example, where most political parties overlooked modern slavery in their manifestos, linking it with lack of related laws implementation once parties come into power.
“During 2024 general elections campaign Pakistan Peoples’ Party was an exception, promising to raise the minimum basic salary to PKR 50,000 and improve working conditions for home-based workers, he highlights.
The omission of critical issues like modern slavery, bonded labor, and forced labor from mainstream political parties’ manifestos in Pakistan’s 2024 general elections is alarming, according to Akram Khaskheli, President of Hari Welfare Association (HWA). According to him, this absence highlights the parties’ lack of priority for these pressing concerns affecting the common man, which may exacerbate the modern slavery problem.
Article 11 of the Constitution of Pakistan addresses the issue of slavery, forced labor, and trafficking in persons. Pakistan is also a signatory to international laws related to curbing of modern slavery and forced labor.
For instance, Pakistan has ratified the relevant International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions, Convention No. 138 on minimum age, Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour, Convention No. 29 on forced labour, and Convention No. 105 on the abolition of forced labour, as well as other international instruments.
Despite that modern slavery and forced labor persists in Pakistan. According to the 2023 Global Slavery Index, Pakistan had an estimated 2.35 million people, or around one per cent of the population, trapped in modern slavery, representing 10.6 individuals per thousand. At the time of Index reporting, Pakistan ranked 18th globally and 4th in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of modern slavery prevalence.
Khaskheli notes that lack of crop insurance exacerbates modern slavery among peasants. Climate change vulnerable crops lead to shared losses between landlords and peasants, further jeopardizing peasants.
Khaskheli’s reference to traditional cropping system is in line with Food and Agriculture Organization report, that defines the core of the sharecropping or hari system in rural Sindh is the economic relationship between the landlord (or zamindar) and the sharecropper tenant (or the hari). The basic sharecropper landlord verbal contract is referenced around the two primary inputs of traditional agriculture, land and labour. The landlord, obviously, provides the land, and the sharecropper traditionally provided all labour power, including the labour power of draught animals. Given this traditional sharing of inputs, the output or harvest was traditionally shared equally between the landlord and the sharecropper. The process of division, also known as ‘batai’, was premised on the two parties getting equal shares of the gross produce.
Khaskheli cites the 2022 Sindh floods, where the government unprecedentedly compensated small-scale growers with PKR 5,000 per acre. However, this was given to landowners, leaving peasants without their due share.
“Effective crop insurance programs addressing climate-related risks can mitigate financial burdens and reduce peasants’ vulnerability to exploitation,” he added.
Crop insurance is an agricultural risk management tool that protects farmers/peasants, growers, and landowners from financial losses due to crop failure or damage caused by natural disasters, pests, or diseases.
To combat forced labor, International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched the Bridge Project II, funded by the US Department of Labor, to eradicate forced labor in Pakistan’s agriculture, brick kiln, and mining sectors from May 2023 to December 2024.
As per official information, Bridge Project II promotes decent work, protects labor rights, and supports Pakistan’s Vision 2025 and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Despite global and national efforts, the implementation of anti-modern slavery and forced labor laws in Pakistan remains a concern, with human rights groups citing inadequate enforcement and political apathy. To address these concerns, Mansoor advocates for workforce identification, issuance of appointment letters with terms and conditions, salary payments through bank accounts, and registration for social security and pension benefits.
According to Barrister Rida Tahir, who has worked with Pakistan’s parliament on human rights legislation drafting and currently working as consultant with the Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC), Pakistan needs to enhance its legislation to combat modern slavery and forced labor.
For instance, barrister suggests amending the National Commission for Human Rights Pakistan to include Business Human Rights within its mandate. Provincially, she recommends Sindh enact a Domestic Workers Act and Balochistan pass an adult protection act, similar to its Child Protection Act, 2016.
Additionally, she notes that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Balochistan lack provincial human rights commissions, unlike Sindh. Following the 18th constitutional amendment, these provinces should establish commissions with mandates to create laws on Business and Human Rights, as Sindh has done.
In Sindh, the Human Rights Commission has ensured minimum wages, a feat unmatched by other Pakistani provinces, she added.
This story was part of Pakistan’s General Election 2024 fellowship, organized by the Tribal News Network (TNN) and Thomson Foundation.